Kokutai (Japanese kanji: 国体, lit. national essence) is a framework for Japanese understanding of what is Japanese. It served in different interpretations as a unifying idea from the Meji restoration until the end of World War II. Japanese writing Kanji 漢字 Kana 仮名 Hiragana 平仮名 Katakana 片仮名 Uses Furigana 振り仮名 Okurigana 送り仮名 Romaji ローマ字 Category Kanji (   漢字?, literally Han characters) are Chinese characters used in Japanese. ... History of Japan Paleolithic Jomon Yayoi Yamato period ---Kofun period ---Asuka period Nara period Heian period Kamakura period Muromachi period Azuchi-Momoyama period ---Nanban period Edo period Meiji period Taisho period Showa period ---Japanese expansionism ---Occupied Japan ---Post-Occupation Japan Heisei The Meiji period (Japanese: Meiji Jidai 明治時代 ) (1868–1912... History of Japan Paleolithic Jomon Yayoi Yamato period ---Kofun period ---Asuka period Nara period Heian period Kamakura period Muromachi period Azuchi-Momoyama period ---Nanban period Edo period Meiji period Taisho period Showa period ---Japanese expansionism ---Occupied Japan ---Post-Occupation Japan Heisei Surrender Japan surrendered to the Allies on August 14...

Description

The center of the kokutai framework was put down in the kojiki. It held that the emperor directly descended from Amaterasu Omikami, the sun goddess. This belief included a unity of state and church (Japanese: saisei ichi, 祭政一). Kojiki or Furukotofumi (古事記) is the oldest known historical book about the ancient history of Japan. ... An emperor is a (male) monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. ... Torii at the Ama-no-Iwato Shrine in Takachiho, Miyazaki Prefecture Amaterasu is a Shinto Sun goddess; she is the mythical ancestress of the royal family of Japan. ...

Important sources for the kokutai include: kokutai no hongi (Kanji: 国体の本義) and kokutai shinron (国体新論).

Application

The Peace Preservation Law from 1925 forbade conspiracy or revolt against the kokutai and effectively criminalized socialism, communism, and other ideologies that would threaten Japan's emperor-centered social order. The Peace Preservation Law became unconstitutional under the Japanese constitution from 1947. The Peace Preservation Law (Japanese: 治安維持法; Chian-ijihô) was a Japanese law passed in 1925 as a mechanism for the royal family to entrench itself against a growing left wing. ... The color red and particularly the red flag are traditional symbols of Socialism. ... This article is about communism as a form of society and as a popular movement. ... The Elections and Parties Series Democracy Representative democracy History of democracy Referenda Liberal democracy Representation Voting Voting systems Ideology Elections Elections by country Elections by calender Electoral systems Politics Politics by country Political campaigns Political science Political philosophy Related topics Political parties Parties by country Parties by name Parties by... An emperor is a (male) monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. ... The Constitution of Japan has been the founding legal document of Japan since 1947. ...

References

• John S. Brownlee: Four stages of the Japanese kokutai (pdf)

See also

• Japanese nationalism
• Japanese Empire and Socialism
• Japanese fascism
• Shinbutsu Shugo